Colour Me In
by Langus
Summary: Six months ago she would have had trouble recognizing this feeling, but it was one she'd felt daily since reuniting with Abby and having Holtzmann and Patty enter her life. For the first time in a very long time she felt like she truly belonged somewhere. As she glanced over at Holtzmann's dancing form and caught her eye, Erin wondered if that feeling was the same for the others.


"All right ladies, come on! We've got this!" Abby's proton stream struck the class 5 corporeal entity (that looked vaguely like Abraham Lincoln) square in the chest.

"Still have a thing for husky men in hats?" Patty demanded and grit her teeth as she fought to keep her proton stream aimed at the squirming spectre.

"Just a little more!" Holtzmann threw the ghost trap down and slammed her foot on the release button, opening its doors. The entity was pulled towards it but at the last moment Patty's proton pack shorted out and her stream disappeared.

"Patty, where's your proton stream?" Abby demanded as she desperately tried to compensate for the lost power. "We need your help!"

Patty slapped her gun and tried the trigger several times to no effect. "I don't know!" she shouted back. "It's out of juice or something!"

"It's okay, I've got this!" Erin shouted and grabbed the Holtzmann-made device off her belt. With a push of the pin, she set the charge and tossed it at the entity.

Holtzmann cried out a warning, but it was too late. The device detonated, neutralizing all three of their proton streams as well as the ghost. A copious amount of ectoplasm exploded out of the entity and landed squarely on Erin, covering her from head to toe.

"Oh come on!" she protested and gave a frustrated stamp of her foot.

"Maybe you's right and that slime has it out for you," Patty admitted as she hooked her proton gun back onto her pack.

Abby returned her gun as well and uttered a defeated moan, "We were so close! We really need another class 5 entity to study in the lab."

"Sorry about that," Erin apologized as she wiped gobs of ectoplasm from her face. "I didn't really think that one through."

"Patty, give me your pack. I need to make some adjustments," Holtzmann instructed, and took the pack from her.

"You doing all right there?" she asked, turning to Erin with a smile.

"Yeah, great. Just great. Thanks for asking."

Holtzmann's smile widened as Erin gingerly squeegeed slime from her hair with her fingers.

"Sorry about the proton grenade."

Erin gave a tight smile, "Don't mention it."

"Hey, Holtzy, do we still have that tarp in the back of the car?" Patty shouted to her with a hesitant look at Erin's slime covered form. "Cause it looks like we're gonna need it."

OoO

Erin was freshly showered and seated at her laptop, part-way through a re-write of the first chapter of their book - Ghosts from Our Past, Both Literally and Figuratively. Many of the theories she and Abby had discussed in the first chapter now had tangible proof to support them. And as any good scientist would, she felt it prudent to update their earlier work to reflect the current state of their research.

Looking back at those long familiar words, she felt a blossom of pride swell in her chest along with the bitter sting of guilt. Every time she read those words she was reminded of how she'd let Abby down and abandoned her when she'd needed her most. She'd put her career and the dream of teaching at a university ahead of the only true friend she had growing up. It was a choice she was coming to realize she would always regret.

"Hey, whatcha working on?"

Holtzmann sailed across the floor on her rolling office chair and wound up next to Erin at the table. She propped her chin atop her fist and looked at her expectantly.

"Just doing some edits on our book," she explained and turned the screen so Holtzmann could see it for herself. She removed her yellow-lensed goggles to give the page a cursory glance and then fixed Erin with an eager smile.

"I got something for you."

A look of disbelief crossed her features, "For me?"

"Yeah, come on!"

Holtzmann slid her goggles back onto her face and with a great push her chair went rolling back across the floor to her work bench. Erin closed her laptop screen and made her way over to Holtzmann's work station where there were any number of half-finished projects on the go.

She pointed to a rather large, menacing-looking device, "Is this it?"

Holtzmann carefully pushed her hands away from the glowing proton beams and shook her head. "That proton net isn't even close to being finished. Stick a hand in there and it won't come out again," she laughed.

Erin made a horrified face and abruptly clutched her hands close to her chest.

"This is yours," Holtzmann clarified, and her eyes brightened as she held up a digital arm band. Holding it out to Erin with a flourish, she waited patiently for her to take it.

"That right there," she said as Erin studied the device up close, "is a genuine, personalized, reverse tractor beam powered by hololaser technology."

Holtzmann rested her cheek on her fist and eagerly watched while Erin inspected her latest invention in detail.

"You made this just for me?" she asked, stunned.

"Here, let me help you put it on."

Holtzmann assisted her in getting the cuff up over her jacket and pinning it shut.

"Now all you've gotta do," she explained with her hands resting atop Erin's shoulders, "is engage that panel and you've got yourself an individual, full-body, ectoplasm shield."

"It can do that?"

"Sure can!"

Holtzmann grinned, looking positively pleased at the sight of her invention on Erin's arm.

"You mean, no more slime?" she gasped and looked down at the device in disbelief.

"No more slime!"

Erin laughed, elated, and wrapped her arms around Holtzmann's neck in an exuberant hug.

"This is amazing! My own personal slime shield! No more slime! No more slime!"

"No more slime!" Holtzmann chanted with her and delivered an energetic double high five.

"I feel so indestructible," Erin crowed, and gave an excited little dance. "How does it work?"

"Well," Holtzmann began and removed her safety googles to prop them atop her head. "By changing the polarization of the holo laser I fine-tuned the movement of the particles. And with a few adjustments to the circuit board, I was able to make the sensors motion activated. So whenever this baby detects a corporeal entity it'll generate a plasma shield around you to protect from all future ecto-projections."

"Amazing," Erin gushed in amazement. "I can't wait to try it out."

"One little caveat," Holtzmann added, her expression turning serious.

Erin's smile abruptly faded, "What's that?"

"You might not want to keep it engaged for more than a few minutes at a time."

"Why not?" she demanded, her voice rising in nervous pitch.

"It could lead to sudden body hair loss. Which may or may not be permanent."

"Holtzmann!"

The eccentric inventor grinned wide and shook her head, "I'm just kidding."

Erin's hands went subconsciously to her hair, which was only just starting to grow back in its regular colour, "That's really not something to joke about."

"Come on," Holtzmann teased, "I'm sure you'd look great in a wig!"

"And I'm sure I'd look ridiculous."

Holtzmann laughed, unperturbed by Erin's frown, and helped her remove the device from her arm.

"I know we joke around a lot, but I really appreciate you making this for me," Erin said seriously and touched the device with a smile. "It's truly impressive."

Holtzmann swung towards Erin in her chair and scooped up the device. "You keep that," she instructed, her eyes lingering on Erin's as she placed the device gently into her hands.

"Thanks, Holtz," she said with a sincere smile. "It means a lot."

"No problem," she replied and gave a playful wink before pushing off the table to sail across the room to her other work station.

Erin watched her a moment longer and didn't even attempt to fight the inevitable smile that crossed her lips when Holtzmann turned on the radio and started to dance along to the music. Her hands moved with practiced ease, picking up this instrument and that, to perfect the team's next ghost trapping device. Looking down at the one clasped in her hand, Erin held it just a little bit tighter.

Six months ago she would have had trouble recognizing this feeling, but it was one she'd felt daily since reuniting with Abby and having Holtzmann and Patty enter her life. For the first time in a very long time she felt like she truly belonged somewhere. As she glanced over at Holtzmann's dancing form and caught her eye, she wondered if that feeling was the same for the others. Maybe they'd all felt a little bit lost out there on their own.

Returning to her laptop, Erin opened the screen and stared at the first chapter of Ghosts from Our Past. This book had started it all, and there wasn't a day that went by that she wasn't thankful for it. There were a lot of choices in her life that she wasn't proud of, but following Abby and Holtz to the Aldridge Mansion that day and beginning her journey as a Ghostbuster wasn't one of them. From where she sat, it was the best decision she'd ever made.


End file.
